The disclosure relates to modular prosthesis assemblies, and more specifically, to prosthesis assemblies for transtibial, or below the knee, amputees.
Prosthetic assemblies for transtibial amputees may limit or constrain the flexibility or range of lower body movement particularly during difficult biomechanical positions including, but not limited to, kneeling, squatting, sitting, i.e. kneeling while sitting back on the heels, and the transitions between such positions.
These biomechanical positions may cause discomfort to an amputee or may induce pain or strains in the knees, hip and/or back. In the prior art, various prosthetic assemblies exist but very few specifically address the range of motion and position difficulties experienced by transtibial amputees that assume the positions of kneeling, squatting, sitting, or transitioning between these positions.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,052,519 to Gramnäs entitled Prosthetic Leg and Foot Apparatus discloses an arrangement for a leg prosthesis provided with a foot which is connected to the leg prosthesis via an articulated axle. However, Gramnäs does not address the positional problems experienced by transtibial amputees.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,038,705 to Owens et al. entitled Rotational Joint Assembly For the Prosthetic Leg discloses a rotational joint assembly for a prosthetic leg which enables an artificial foot to rotate slightly which a person is walking, running, or turning. However, Owens et al. does not disclose a solution to the physical position problem experienced by transtibial amputees.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,112,227 to Doddroe et al., entitled Multi-axis Prosthetic Ankle Joint discloses a multi-axis prosthetic ankle for connection of a prosthetic lower leg to a prosthetic foot. However, Doddroe et al. does not disclose a solution to the physical position problems experienced by transtibial amputees.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,187,052 to Molino et al. entitled Prosthetic Ankle Joint discloses a prosthetic ankle joint that mimics natural ankle motion but does not specifically address the positional position problems experienced by transtibial amputees.
WO2005/037151 discloses an artificial multi-axes knee joint which does not address the positional problems experienced by transtibial amputees.
However, U.S. Pat. No. 4,865,611 issued to Al-Turaiki entitled Lockable Rotating Ankle Joint for Modular Below-Knee Prosthesis addresses the flexibility for the difficult biomechanical positions for a transtibial amputee. Al-Turaiki discloses a patellar tendon bearing (PTB) prosthesis that has a socket, a modular shank component, and a foot component which is rotatably attached to the shank component. The rotatable foot attachment allows the foot component to be axially rotated inwardly or outwardly at ±90° angles with respect to the shank component of the prosthesis.